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“Nothing exceeds like excess.” Justin Timberlake’s “Suit and Tie” lyric recently dusted off that Scarface movie line paraphrasing the old “succeed-success” proverb, and now Nissan is putting it to the test in the automotive realm by adding still more power to Godzilla. Yes the mighty GT-R Nismo special edition model will up the performance ante to 600 hp and “over 480 lb-ft.”

Auto Show Floor Update: Given that the special Time Attack version of the 2015 Nissan GT-R Nismo just recorded a 7:08.679 Nürburgring lap, we knew the production Nismo would be fast. We didn’t know that the car would be “about-2-seconds-0-60 fast,” as Nissan vice president of sales and marketing Fred Diaz said at Nissan’s L.A. auto show press conference. Rumors have circulated that the Nismo variant would be capable of accelerating to 60 mph in the 2-second range, but now a Nissan exec has confirmed that estimate. The last 2014 Nissan GT-R Track Edition we tested achieved 0-60 in 2.7 seconds, so we can’t wait to put Nissan’s claims for the Nismo model to the test. – Alex Nishimoto

That boost of 50+ hp and at least 17 lb-ft comes primarily from larger-diameter turbochargers borrowed from the GT3 racing program, along with improved breathing, and optimized ignition timing, plus an elevation of the power peak to 6800 rpm, from the 6400 on base models.

Both the engine and aero work were developed for Nismo’s entrant in the 2012 Nurburgring 24-hour race, and naturally these major improvements required some upgrades be made to the chassis as well. The racing enhancements were dialed back a bit for the road car to ensure minimum acceptable levels of road noise and ride refinement out in the real world. A 17.3mm hollow rear anti-roll bar is both stiffer and lighter than the stock unit. Spring rates and Bilstein DampTronic shock valving are uniquely tuned for higher grip and progressive limit-handling response. Special front control-arm links increase caster trail for improved high-g cornering (they also help it track better in a straight line). The wheel bolts are upsized to increase the stiffness at the wheel/hub interface. Even the body-shell gets a stiffness upgrade in the form of additional adhesive bonding to augment the spot welds (there’s an upgrade that’s impossible for aftermarket tuners to do!).

Best of all, after a vigorous track-lapping session, drivers will be able to download a digital report of their runs using Nissan’s telematics connection.

The car goes on sale 2014, at which point it will be up to you to transport your car to Germany and try to beat Nissan’s best Nurburgring lap time, which was to be announced today, in the road-going version.

Naturally you’ll want your friends to be able to distinguish your Nismo from ordinary cooking GT-Rs, and in case the rear wing and red-accented bumpers and side-sills don’t do the job sufficiently, there are six-spoke black wheels inspired by the GT500 race car, and a Nismo-only dark matte grey paint option. Inside you’ll be treated to “discreet red stitching” on the seats, console, and on the Alcantara-swathed three-spoke steering wheel (which also includes a red stripe at 12-o’clock to indicate straight ahead).

Plusher “base car.” Now that there’s an even more extreme performance model available, the time seemed right to domesticate the mainstream car just a skosh. The suspension (shocks, springs, and tires) are all revised with the goal of maintaining ultimate grip but providing a more comfortable ride. The sound-insulation package has been optimized and upgraded to exclude some of the rowdiest road noise, and a Bose Active Noise Controller system kicks in to quell the boomiest of undesirable engine frequencies. Altogether, the interior din is said to be lower by a (most welcome) 10 dBA. There’s also a new LED front lighting package with three electronically illuminated projector beams on each side of the car, and new medium red metallic exterior and ivory interior colors.

Nismo details. That adhesive that augments the spot welds is applied around the door opening and along the sides of the rear window and trunk opening. The material cures in the paint shop. The lug bolts are 2mm larger in diameter to improve stiffness and form a more secure attachment. The tires are also new and provide far greater grip while preserving true on-road drivability in the wet, as opposed to the minimally grooved slicks that the DOT questionably calls “legal.”

The 7:08.679 Nurburgring car. The Nismo car you can buy next summer won’t circulate the ‘Ring quite this quickly. The so-called “Time Attack” car displayed in the camouflage has several additional upgrades. The engine is tuned differently with identical 600-hp and 481-lb-ft horsepower and torque peaks, but the curves are slightly fatter. The AWD system’s torque biasing program is tweaked slightly. The aerodynamics package also differs in a couple very meaningful ways that will likely erode that 0.27 Cd claimed for the mainstream model. The rear wing stands quite a bit taller; there’s an aero fence running along the rear edge of the hood, and the front fenders have little aero “whiskers.” Many of these upgrades will likely find their way into the Nismo Track edition (or whatever they call it), though it’s not clear whether the aero fence on the hood could pass pedestrian crash standards or whether the tweaked engine could be made clean enough to be legal.

Some smack talk. 2010 GT1 World Champion Michael Krumm managed to pedal the GT-R around the ring for that hero time mentioned above, but about a week before the GT-R’s time was released, Porsche proudly crowed that its 918 Spyder managed the job in 6:57. Michael has studied the in-car playbacks and notices that while the 918 was faster climbing up all the hills, and it frequently achieved higher top speeds on the straights, the GT-R cornered as quickly. He also noticed that toward the back half of the track, the split times were equalizing as the hybrid hypercar’s batteries eventually wore down. He also pointed out that that car was essentially running on grooved slicks. Fitting similar tires to the GT-R helped but did not equalize the cars’ performance. His observations raise the question: Which of these cars would be faster over two laps? The GT-R certainly won’t run out of gas before the 918 runs low on boost electricity, but will it run out of tire?